


forget me not

by galaxyeyedrops



Category: Granblue Fantasy (Video Game)
Genre: Gen, Happy Ending, M/M, content warning: belial, spoilers for what makes the sky blue part 2
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-13
Updated: 2018-03-13
Packaged: 2019-03-30 18:06:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,539
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13957107
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/galaxyeyedrops/pseuds/galaxyeyedrops
Summary: Sandalphon makes promises and keeps them.





	forget me not

**Author's Note:**

> im fairly new to the game (i made my account a while back but i only started playing last week, incidentally for lucisan) so i apologize if there are any lore/story issues!

Archangels don't have much in the way of proper funeral rites. For one, they rarely die. They, like other primals are innately long-lived, to point that even after two millennia, not a single one has submitted to their age.

They regenerate, heal wounds that would have killed mortals in minutes, without leaving even a trace of a scar.

And third of all, they are weapons, tools built to work and work and work. And if they managed to work themselves too far, their cores, broken or shattered at that point, would have been collected by the Astrals to be recycled into better, sturdier beings.

There's the chance things have changed, but Sandalphon doubts it. Very few archangels died during the rebellion, the number dropping even further after.

In contrast, he's seen the angels, the lower ranked ones, die in plenty. He's seen them buzz desperately as weapons drive themselves into their bodies, fear outweighing all programming. He's heard the ever so slight _crack_ that signals their end, watched their physical bodies tense before dissolving into nothingness, leaving only a broken core as a trophy for whoever managed to do them in.

 

Lucifer is different. As the being built to be the Supreme Primarch, his body—or whatever is left for Sandalphon to find, does not dissolve. Does not unravel, does not decay, does not disappear.

Sandalphon keeps it, not as trophy or a memento, but as a promise. The least he can do for Lucifer is to bring him some semblance of peace, to protect the skies he loved, to let him rest, whole and unforgotten.

He puts it in a box, lined with silk and filled with flowers. Sandalphon replaces them out every few weeks or so; sometimes with heavily scented bouquets he buys with the little coin he has saved, other times carefully collected from whichever meadow they landed near.

Sandalphon arranges them neatly. Bouquets and and his own findings are both taken apart without prejudice. Stems are clipped, put into a neat pile near his door to dispose later. The flowers are lightly cleaned, free of any insects or residue before making their way into the box, all uniform and even, gently cushioning the head placed on top. Sandalphon lays a feather—a gift from the Singularity and the Girl in Blue as well as one of Lucifer's own, besides it. He closes his eyes and prays.

 

The search is faster aboard the Grandcypher than it would be otherwise. The Singularity and his crew have the remarkable ability to run into trouble wherever they go, from the most backwater islands to booming cities. Despite his general salacious demeanor, Belial is capable of remaining hidden when he wants to, but that has its limits. It's impossible for a being to move around without interacting with anyone else and he is no different. Add in the sheer amount of people willing to talk, even to stake out rumors, just for the Grandcypher's crew benefit and soon enough, Sandalphon was practically drowning in a number of leads.

In addition to his help when dealing with Primal Beasts, Sandalphon tries to show his appreciation in smaller ways as well: always making an extra pot of coffee for whoever may wander down, giving advice unprompted, even offering to go on a quest with the Singularity and the Girl in Blue, to help with her archery training, when their usual companions are busy. It backfires spectacularly. Their faces erupt in matching grins and aided by the dragon, they drag him out of the ship, a vice grip on each arm, a call of _Katalina, we're going to hang out with Sandalphon!_ the only notice they give the rest of the crew before they make their way into town.

 

They make quite a sight, a Primal being pushed around by two teenagers, a tiny dragon cheering them on, flapping around happily. There's a hint of mirth on the shopkeeper's face when they walk into the Knickknack Shack, tugging her lips wide. Sandalphon avoids her gaze, focusing all his attention on her stock of potions.

She and the others chat for a bit, small talk followed by an inquiry into the current job requests. She point to a few in response, detailing the the card circumstances, location (if any), as well as the request itself. They're minor things, lost pets and driving away weak monsters and the Singularity and Lyria puzzle over them briefly, eyes flitting rapidly at each one then Sandalphon, who to his credit, is standing by quietly, and then— _Siero, we'll take them all!!_

As expected, the quests don't remain so straightforward. One of the lost pets ended up joining the monster horde, which led to the issues of the pet and the actual monsters being indistinguishable, which _further_ led to the issue of the pet being kidnapped from said monster horde at a young age by a rich couple, making things all sorts of complicated.

It takes a few hours but the issue is soon resolved. The lost pet request is taken down, the owners paying double as hush money so it wouldn't get out that they illegally kidnapped a monster themselves instead of going through the proper channels and getting someone else to kidnap a monster for them, and the monster went off to live happily with its monster family in a forest nearby, where hopefully they won't prey on any more travelers.

They put the money to good use, stocking up on potions first and checking out the local merchants right after. They buy some nice hair ribbons for Io, her birthday the day after, as well as filling requests for any crew members too busy or otherwise unable to go out.

 

It's dusk by the time they finish. Lyria is fast asleep, held piggyback by Gran, head resting on his shoulder. Vyrn circles around them lazily, wings flapping slower than usual, a drowsiness seeping into his voice. They're close to the port, almost back, when Sandalphon spots a familiar shade of blue.

 _Myosotis_. Mouse Ears, the mortals call them. Tiny little delicate flowers the same shade as Lucifer's eyes, with striking yellow centers, that almost seem to glow as the sky turns darker. He spots the placard nearby, with a price listed on the merchant's cart nearby. He feels around his pocket for his money satchel before realizing that he hasn't brought enough. He's got a good amount of treasure piled up in his room, but it would take another day to sell it off properly, and that requires time they don't have.

Sandalphon dismisses the thoughts quickly enough, turns around only to spot Gran facing him, fully aware of his reverie. Lyria is still on his back, but her eyes are open, sharp despite her drowsiness.

"Let's head back," Sandalphon says, walking past them towards the ship, stopping when they don't follow. He waits, a moment, two, as Gran and Lyria take their turn staring off into the distance—then waving him over right after.

"I almost forgot," Gran says, handing him a pouch, a sheepish smile across his face. "But here's your share of the earnings." He casts a significant look at the flower cart, adjusting Lyria's weight and gesturing with his now free hand when all Sandalphon does is stare back blankly.

"I didn't ask for any money."

"Well, yeah, but it's only fair, right? You did these quests too so you get a share." From his shoulder, Lyria nods empathetically.

With a sigh, Sandalphon accepts the money, buying the flowers in short order, tucking the provided felt container away in his hood. He turns back to Gran and Lyria, noticing the stiffness to the younger boy's shoulders, the ever so slight strain in his arms.

He sighs again, a habit that's become more frequent ever since he joined the Grandcypher's crew. He extends a hand out towards Lyria then turns it towards himself in a two fingered point to his own back. "I can carry you," he says, watching both of their eyes light up, Lyria getting off Gran on shaky legs, gratefully climbing up.

"I'd love to do this more often," She tells the both of them, as Sandalphon deposits her on a couch. Vyrn was probably in Gran's room by now, dragon immediately heading to bed the moment they made it back to the ship. Gran, himself, looks to Sandalphon, expectant.

Sandalphon doesn't say no.

 

(That night, as he prays for Lucifer's soul, Sandalphon also sends a message. He tells him about living on the Grandcypher, how it's like to travel the skies by ship. He tells him about Gran, about Lyria, about today, down to every last detail, from color of his new flowers to the expression on Katalina's face as he came in carrying Lyria.

He tells him that he misses him. Though Lucifer, if he could even hear him, should be tired of listening to that. After all, Sandalphon tells him every day.)

 

It isn't until a couple months later that something pings on their radar. There's been a strange man spotted in the Valtz Duchy.

He claims to be an academic, a traveler wanting to study the rocks and lava of the island. He sought an audience with the archduke, the latter alerting Io upon noticing how the man shared a striking similarity with their description of Belial. Upon further inspection, it was revealed that while his papers were incredibly convincing, there were no records of him entering the island.

It takes all their combined might to stop Sandalphon from rushing there on his own. They have plenty of time, they tell him. Following their advice, the archduke had agreed to the request, the meeting scheduled to take place in three days time.

He argues, of course. The fire is what makes Sandalphon, Sandalphon. He talks about Lucifer, how he needs to do this, how he needs to be there _right now_. Lyria agrees. Lucifer is important to Sandalphon, after all. She understands that. _But_ , she also says, _you matter to us too. We need to be there by your side_.

Very few people win arguments against Lyria.

 

They make it to the island in record time, Sandalphon's compliance to this request is far from making him compliant, as Rackham can attest.

The inn isn't hard to find, the archduke's office requires current address for anyone seeking to make an appointment, even travelers, and given that it was the only method of contact from the office itself, it had to be real.

Sandalphon bursts the door down with a kick (he can hear Gran downstairs already offering the innkeeper restitution) only to be greeted by a smirking, very naked Belial.

"Sandy," he purrs, looking the archangel up and down. "If you wanted some _special time_ with me, all you had to do was ask."

Sandalphon grits his teeth at the innuendo, drawing his weapon. "Shut up."

"No need to be so distant, you know." Belial says, taking one step further, and then another, until Sandalphon's sword rests by his neck. "I'm quite the attentive lover. I can have these pretty lips begging and moaning in no time."

"I said _shut up_." The words leave Sandalphon's mouth in a hiss, his blade presses against the fallen angel's throat, drawing blood. "You're coming with us."

Belial smirks as tiny rivulets of blood, roll down his neck, past his collarbones. "While this commanding tone has me all hot under the collar, I'm going have to cancel on this one. After all," he says, gesturing to the people downstairs, the ones outside, the ones all around them. "It's not like you can go all out here."

He lifts a hand, running a finger down the side of Sandalphon's sword, pricking it on the blade, bathing it with more of his blood. "But I _can_."

The change is instant. Power spikes rapidly, Belial quickly surrounds himself with the dark element, and all Sandalphon can do is throw up as much of the Supreme Primarch's as he can, in hopes of holding it off. Belial pours in more energy in response, and its then that Sandalphon realizes what he's planning. "Gran! Lyria!" he calls out, hoping they hear him downstairs, hoping they get the message, before redirecting his power to shield himself instead, taking Belial's blast head on.

 

He wakes to someone shaking his shoulders, tears dripping down his face. "Sandalphon!" She sobs, fingers pressing into the dents in his armor. "You're alright!" Besides her, Gran and Katalina smile, relieved.

Sandalphon coughs a bit, clearing his throat, feeling his core helping him regenerate. He pulls himself up to a sitting position. "How bad was the explosion?"

"Not too bad," Gran answers. "You took most of the damage, so there weren't any casualties, at least. A few injured but we had enough potions stocked to help them out."

"And Belial?"

"Gone." This time it's Katalina that answers, eyebrows furrowed, a frown on her face. "He took out a couple of other places as well, after he knocked you out. The rest of the crew is out helping. The Duchy is doing all it can to deliver aid but not everyone was as lucky as us."

Lyria bites her lip. "He was trying to kidnap you, I think, but he stopped the moment we showed up."

"I don't really get it," Gran adds. "But from what I remember, Belial is a lot—" _Stronger than us, faster than us_ , he leaves the statement hanging, not needing to finish for everyone to get the message.

"What's the state of the ship?" It's Sandalphon who interrupts the silence, the archangel as blunt as ever.

"Some minor damage, but nothing structural. Rackham says that he can fix it all by tomorrow."

"It wasn't a trap, then." Sandalphon says. "I can say for sure that he wasn't planning on us being here, the damage was more to buy himself time than anything else."

"What I don't understand," he continues, "is why he was here in the first place. I can't sense anything particularly remarkable about this island at the moment."

Gran, Lyria, and Katalina all still. Sandalphon looks at them, a question on his lips, but before he can ask, Gran speaks. "We've got a pretty good guess."

 

"So this is the place?" Sandalphon asks the next day, peering through layer upon layer of rock and rubble.

Katalina nods to the affirmative. " Have you found anything?"

"Nothing of interest. You?"

"Someone's definitely been here recently," She says, pointing to a few upturned rocks, "but if I had to guess, they didn't find what they were looking for."

"It would make sense," Sandalphon admits. "According to your story, the Colossus perished. Since it was only completed recently, it wasn't known amongst the archangels—a perfect target for core collection."

Something sparks in his mind. A realization. He pauses, turns to look at the others. "I know where Belial is."

 

Belial greets them outside Pandemonium. He's not alone, a hooded figure by his side. Belial greets them with a smile this time, thankfully fully clothed.

"You came faster than expected," Belial says, wagging a finger. "Hasn't anyone ever told you that a good partner takes things nice and slow?"

His partner, in contrast, does not say a word, nor move an inch. Sandalphon narrows his eyes, he doesn't seem to be the same person as the one he killed, but for all he knows, he may be just as dangerous.

He readies his sword, just in case. He'd love to run them both through right now and let that be the end of it, but he's made a promise to Lucifer. He needs to protect the skies properly, and for that, he needs answers. This new hooded figure only proves that they have more, unknown collaborators. It would be better to take them all out at once instead of waiting, over and over again, for the next batch to pop up.

"Tell me," he says, raising an arm, sword glinting in the light, manifestations appearing around him. "What exactly are your plans?"

"But you've figured out most of it, haven't you Sandy? We need more cores and didn't want those archangels interrupting so we focused our search to those you wouldn't have heard of. I caught a bad break at the Valtz Duchy and tried to use the distraction to get all nice and deep inside of the Pandemonium but," he says shifting his shoulders in exasperation, "it looks like you got ahead of me."

Sandalphon's face does not shift. "I have no reason to hold back here," he says. "Tell me everything."

"Fair, fair," Belial says, holding his hands in mock surrender, wiggling the fingers. "Not all of the cores are for the Avatar. We're also kinda building off another part of Lucilius' legacy.

"Have you ever wondered," he asks Sandalphon. "Exactly what happened to the rest of your beloved Lucifer?"

Sandalphon's stomach turns as Belial's grin stretches ever so wider. "If you did anything to desecrate his remains, I will—"

"—Not like that, unfortunately." Belial interrupts, a pout plastered across his features. "But we did have some _fun_ regardless."

He turns to his companion, switching targets. "Isn't that right, Lucy?"

A hand, the same one that carefully grinded coffee beans, that tried to reach out for him despite everything, slowly lifts the hood up—revealing nothing where a head should be. If he looks hard, Sandalphon can see a hint of a pale neck, topped with jagged cuts where Belial carved out his head.

Sandalphon forces himself to swallow down the instinctive bile. His hands turns clammy, his weapon refuses to stay in his grip, landing softly on the grass. "You..." Breathing becomes a struggle, understanding is no less painful. "Lucifer…."

Belial frowns exaggeratedly at his reaction. "And here I thought you'd be grateful. This is a reunion for the ages!"

He turns to Gran and Lyria. "Pretty nice of me, right? Feeling charmed yet?"

Lyria clutches her necklace tight with one hand, firing up an elemental spell with the other. Next to her, Gran draws his sword, the rest of the crew following suit. At the same moment, the other Primarchs reveal themselves, dropping in from the skies. Their gazes fixed on the remains of their former boss.

In one unified movement, they all charge into battle; Gran and the crew take Belial, Michael and Raphael supporting them, while the other two fight besides their new Supreme Primarch.

 

It's a hard battle. Belial was always strong, and he's even stronger today. It soon becomes apparent that he's treated himself to a few of those cores, himself. He bobs and weaves, goading them on and dodging their blasts with a laugh. And when they finally think they have him, the smoke clears and he's disappeared.

Sandalphon, in contrast, is in the air, still fighting. But not fighting well. Gran can see the hesitation, the lack of force behind each strike. Uriel is already down, Gabriel putting in all of her energy to cover the two, before she too is disarmed.

The Puppet swings back to Sandalphon, powerful swings quickly driving him down to the ground, and then, to his knees. Lyria throws a few spells forward, aided by Io, but the Puppet shrugs them off. And before Gran and the others can make it to Sandalphon's side, before Lyria can summon a single Primal Beast, the Puppet's weapon pierces through Sandalphon's armor, into his shoulder.

Sandalphon doesn't yell. Doesn't scream. The world turns quiet the moment Lucifer's sword sinks into flesh. He looks up at him, waiting for the end but nothing comes. The sword is frozen along with the hand holding it, and an idea, stupid and reckless makes its way into Sandalphon's head.

He lifts himself up, wincing as the sword in his shoulder shifts, then rips it out, leans forwards grabbing Lucifer's hands in his own, pouring as much of the Supreme Primarch's energy he has. Its working he thinks, as the other's hands fall limp, it's working he knows as he feels the muscles tense.

There's a bit more, he just needs a bit more, when he's cut off by another strike, this one to the opposite shoulder. The shock makes him reel back, cutting off the connection, energy dissipating.

Belial stands behind him, weapon at hand. "Hate to break up such an intimate moment," he says, not even bothering to sound sincere. "But me and Lucy here have some important things to do—this has been rougher than my usual booty calls but can't say I wasn't into it."

He's greeted with more than a few shots, a strike from Gran, but shoves them off quickly, drawing Lucifer away from Sandalphon. He fires back a couple of blasts of his own, fleeing in the confusion.

Gran and the others reach him right after, but they hang back, hesitant.

 

Sandalphon slowly picks himself up, and to everyone's shock, laughs. He laughs and laughs, laughs like nobody's heard him laugh before. Not with the twinge of desperation, nor the undercurrent of sorrow—no, Sandalphon laughs full-bodied and clear, and that makes it even more concerning. ( _He's lost it_ , Vyrn comments, Gran shushing him immediately.)

After a while though, he trails off, laughter fading into a smile.

"Umm... Sandalphon?" Lyria asks. "Are you alright? If you need anything, I…"

Sandalphon waves her off. "Nonsense," he says, looking happier than Gran's ever seen him. "Everything is more than fine."

 

Hours later, aboard the Grandcypher, he explains everything. Lyria and Gran are excited but others are more hesitant. "Are you sure this will work?" Michael asks.

"I'll make it." Sandalphon promises.

 

Unlikely as it is, Belial does in fact have a permanent address. It's more out of necessary than a need to settle down; carting around experiments from place to place was far from efficient. And anything building up to the Avatar's size definitely needed a fair amount of space.

He's bought out a large plot of land, an investment made a couple hundred or so years back, with a lot less money than one would expect.

It's a decent property, a couple hundred acres, nice beach front view, very few if any visitors.

That is, except for the airship floating above his backyard.

 

Rackham watches Belial walk out of his house through his spyglass. He's tense, annoyance evident on his features.

"He's here," he tells Gran. "Ready to do this, Captain?"

Gran checks his pack again, making sure everything's there. He gives him a thumbs up.

They descend slowly; Gran, Lyria, Vryn, and Katalina. They've decided to send a small group down first, leaving an identical number on the ship as backup.

"I expected Sandy to be with you," Belial offers in lieu of a greeting when Gran steps forward to meet him.

"He's got a Supreme Primarch thing," Gran says. "He gave us a list of leads and we volunteered to check some out." He draws his sword, inspecting the blade. "So I guess that we'll be your opponents for today."

Belial grins, drawing out his wings. "Then you better not leave me unsatisfied!"

 

Sandalphon quickly races from room to room, a box tucked in between his arms. There was enough leftover energy that he could trace it to this location easily, but enough scattered across the grounds that pinpointing an exact location was almost impossible.

He blows up parts of the mansion, tears down walls, it's impossible to know if there are any secret rooms otherwise.

It takes a while, but he eventually finds a (no longer) revolving panel off one of the spare bedrooms with a staircase hidden behind. He descends quickly, almost tripping in his haste, the staircase leading to a large room underground.

Inside, amongst a pile of books and scientific implements, stands Lucifer.

 

The battle is long and drawn out, the Singularity and his crew downing potions and elixirs every time they had the chance, but eventually they run out and tire, ending in Belial's victory.

They make a pretty sight, all tired and panting, it's unfortunate that he'll have to kill them eventually, but for now, Belial walks forwards, fully intending on gloating.

"It's incredible isn't it?" He asks. "Using Primal cores as a power source. 'Bub is off planning something with the Avatar so I thought I'd take this idea out for a spin in the meantime."

"If Sandy sent you, he'll definitely be by in a day or two, and honestly speaking I would love to keep you around and while I'm normally down to getting double teamed, I can't really afford that right now."

"So," he says, crouching down to the Singularity's level. "No hard feelings or anything?"

He expects many things, fear, anger, bitterness, those would all be normal. What he sees in the Singularity's eyes instead is triumph.

 

Sandalphon breathes slowly. In and out. He makes sure to keep a physical connection, a hand wrapped around Lucifer's wrist, feeding him energy as he does so. _Just think of the coffee tree_ , he reminds himself. Belial must have introduced a foreign agent of some sort to Lucifer's system to prevent him from regenerating, as well as keeping his core and body intact. All Sandalphon had to do was drive it out.

With his other hand, he opens the box, reaching out for and removing Lucifer's head from its bed of flowers. He holds it tenderly, placing it on Lucifer's neck with care, making sure that the cuts line up. He leaves his hand there to keep it propped up.

Another inhale.

Another exhale.

He releases another wave of power, this one greater than the last, chasing away any kind of infection, and filling Lucifer's body to the brim.

For a second he blacks out, vision going dark, gripping harder to make sure he doesn't let go. In moments, his sight returns, and with it, Lucifer.

The skin stitches up in front of his eyes. Cuts fading into scars, fading into nothing.

Lucifer's eyes open slowly, a hint of blue peeks out before it's gone and then back again.

"Sandalphon?" His voice is raspy with disuse. An elixir is offered to him, which he drinks gratefully. He pauses for a second, in between sips, taking in the other's appearance. "I apologise for making you go through all this."

"Lucifer, I…." _Love you_ , Sandalphon wants to say. _I want to always be by your side. I want to smile with you, laugh with you, drink coffee with you every day for the rest of my life_.

"I missed you," he says instead.

Lucifer smiles, gentle and magnificent. He runs a hand down Sandalphon's face, tucking away any flyaway hair behind his ear, cradling his cheek.

"I know."

Sandalphon leans into the touch, he could stay like this forever, wishes that more than anything, but the sounds of battle rage outside and a few minutes may mean the difference between life and death for someone.

"Come on," He says, reluctantly breaking their hold, leading Lucifer up the stairs.

 

"Wait," Belial says, mentally recalculating. "Don't tell me you were—"

"—Buying time!" Lyria interrupts with absolute cheer.

In that moment, the mansion behind him crumbles. Sandalphon and Lucifer walk out, side by side.

**Author's Note:**

> \- Myosotis is the genus name for flowers generally called forget-me-nots
> 
> please kudos/comment if you liked!


End file.
